The work of raising children doesn't seem to be viewed with real respect. If it were, parental leave for working parents would be fully paid, it would last longer, and it would include equal amounts of time for both parents.

Recent legislation has introduced shared parental leave but women are as worried as ever about the impact of parenthood on their job and still believe having children will affect their career progression.

Increasing paid paternity leave from two weeks to four weeks might sound like a small step, but it's an essential one. It goes someway to creating an equitable system that sees mums and dads as equal and able... What's not to like?

In just a few months from now some new dads will have more options in how they use their parental leave. The new scheme will allow parents to share leave after their child is born, allowing more mothers to return to work - but the question is how many dads will take this leave?

Since the late 1970s when women started to return to work after having a family, the workplace has been forced to adapt to a larger and more senior female population. This has led to maternity leave, childcare vouchers, and a more flexible approach to working.

We know that engaging men on gender equality is not easy, there are many barriers, but we cannot give up. There is huge pressure on boys and men to conform to the norms that constrain them as much as they do women. All children deserve the chance to live life to the full, follow their own path and choose how best to use their talents and pursue their interests.

As an equal parent in and out of working hours for over five years now, I've realised there's no fairytale quite so engaging, but quite so without actual substance, as the modern fatherhood myth. There's a convincing but untrue story about a huge army of fathers out there across the UK, all merrily doing their fair share of childcare, or maybe even more than their female partners.
Just take a look outside. Where are the groups of dads sitting in coffee shops, or joining sing-along at the local library?

According to the plans, set out in the Children and Families Bill, parents will be able to share their combined parental leave between them, either by taking it in turns or taking time off together, up to a total of 52 weeks.

What have we learnt from programmes like The Apprentice? Perhaps it's that 100% is no longer enough and only at least 5556.7% will do? Or, how about the fact that a grey shiny suit always seems to be the right "executive" look? These life lessons aside, it may come as a surprise to learn that one of the biggest gifts programmes like The Apprentice have left us with is that it's okay to be a bit Machiavellian in life. And we're being so more and more especially when it comes to maternity leave.

When I heard last week's Queen's Speech outlining plans to enshrine Nick Clegg's beloved shared parental leave into law, I paused for a moment from putting the fishfingers into the oven to give a little cheer.